Tag: Space

Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope accidentally found a previously-unknown galaxy, 28 million light years from Earth. This family of stars was found while researchers photographed the globular star cluster NGC 6752. Dubbed Bedin 1, this small, dim galaxy is believed to be around 13 billion years old, leading astronomers to describe it as a “living fossil” of the ancient Universe.

The InSight Mars lander touched down on the surface of the Red Planet on Monday, November 23rd. This is the eight successful landing on Mars for NASA and the American space program. InSight lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 8th of this year. The lander is designed to study the interior of Mars, in an effort to learn more about all the rocky planets of our solar system, including Earth. Researchers hope the solar-powered spacecraft lasts at least one Martian year, or roughly two Earth years.

Astronomers have discovered a previously-unknown dwarf planet, nicknamed Goblin, orbiting beyond the orbit of Neptune. This tiny world takes 40,000 years to travel once around the Sun, and it never comes closer than 65 times the distance between the Earth and our parent star. Computer simulations show the orbit of this world may be influenced by a distant, larger body astronomers are dubbing Planet X.

The Parker Solar Probe lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Sunday, August 12th, on its way to explore the Sun. During it’s seven-year mission, the vehicle will come closer to our parent star than any previous spacecraft, and experience temperatures of thousands of degrees. Astronomers hope the spacecraft will answer some long-standing questions in solar science.

A wall of hydrogen gas in the distant solar system has been spotted by astronomers. The object was seen in ultraviolet light by the New Horizons spacecraft, which visited Pluto in 2015. This wall is formed when hydrogen from the sun meets gas floating between the stars, and is compacted as our family of planets travels through the galaxy.

The Andromeda Galaxy, the closest large family of stars to the Milky Way, may be a galactic assassin. Astronomers from the University of Michigan have determined that this family of stars collided with another massive galaxy two billion years ago, nearly destroying it. Today, only the small dwarf galaxy, M32, remains, still located near Andromeda. In roughly four billion years, The Milky Way and Andromeda will collide, greatly altering both galaxies.

A planet sitting 500 light years from Earth, Kepler 186-f, is now considered to be the most Earth-like of all worlds away from our solar system. A new study from Georgia Tech reveals the planet has a stable tilt, providing regular seasons, much like those on Earth. Currently, astronomers know of over 3,700 planets orbiting stars other than our own.

January 31,2018 will be a big morning for skygazers across the United States, as a lunar eclipse is coming, featuring a blue moon, blood moon, and supermoon.
Here’s how you can see this amazing astronomical event.